Beast's Flames
by Schemer Skye
Summary: She hated him for his freedom. Something she'd die for. Yet he was prepared to give it all up just to be one of the royals.Maybe she could convince him otherwise? ON HAITUS!
1. Prologue

The stench of smoke entered Ibara's nose as she edged along the human's village. The tigerdillo hunched down and observed the remains of the village with cool amber eyes. She chuffed lightly at her son, Joko, for trying to edge around her legs to get a better view. He mewed in complaint and Ibara chastised him with a soft blow of her paw. She continued to gaze at the ruins and edged forward slowly, instructing Joko to stay behind.

Keeping low to the ground, she edged along towards the ashes of what once was an earth village. Her mistress would be displeased about the destruction of it, even though the people there had called her a witch. Ibara shook her head. Humans were so strange, with their desire to hate and love their own kind. She turned back towards the forest when she noticed her son apparently taken it upon himself to disappear. Again. She growled and turned back to the village, easily finding his scent trail.

Bodies littered the ground and she could already smell the revolting scent of decay thickly in the air. Ibara steadily walked ahead. Death was just apart of life. A larger building ornate with red and gold, unlike the rest of the villages' green and brown styles, still stood standing and she could hear her son's light chuffing and also something shrill and light.

Elbowing her way through the broken door, Ibara growled as her son lightly batted inside of a small basket. The tigerdillo immediately crouched low and stalked forward to peer into the basket. Inside, a few months old human cub lay nestled in, a female by the smell of it, batted at Joko's paw, trying to grasp it in her chubby fingers and giggling. Ibara leant forward and sniffed at the cub's light brown fur, wrinkling her nose when she caught the scent of the human's of flames. The tigerdillo knew about that kind, the destroyers, the killers.

She leant down to pick up Joko, but he jumped into the basket with the human cub and gazed at his mother with pleading eyes, curling his body protectively around the human's soft skin. Ibara snarled, though pain twisted her heart. She had lost her she-cub, Hathila, a few days ago and knew that Joko must miss having a littermate. _But_ the tigerdillo also knew that raising a human cub would be illogical. She thought about the mistress of the forest, an old earth-moving woman, who lived alone in the forest Ibara called home. Maybe if her mistress accepted the cub as her own, Joko would be able to visit the cub and not be lonely, and the tiny human cub would have a normal life.

She sighed in defeat and licked her son on his head, thanking the spirits for his kind nature despite how annoying it could be. Carefully she grabbed the handle of the basket and lifted both cubs, craning her neck and started back out, hoping her mistress would go along with the her plan.

/

"Ibara!" Minjee(**pronounced MEN-jay**) murmured, sensing the animal was close by. She slightly relaxed her medative state and searched the woods from atop the large boulder she sat for her spirit animal in the brush. She jumped down, slightly pleased that even though she was forty-five, earth-bending had kept her as lithe and spry as a younger person.

Closing her muddy brown eyes, Minjee could feel the vibrations of Ibara's heavy footsteps, slightly heavier than normal, pound against the forest floor. The earth-bender smiled, the tigerdillo was probably coming with her cub, Joko. She would probably be hungry, too.

The tigerdillo padded warily in the clearing, and Minjee noticed a strange basket and snapped at the beast," I told you not to steal from the village anymore!"

The raven-haired lady leant forward to snatch it out of the animal's jaws when a shrill cry came from the basket, and Joko hopped out covering his ears with his paws comically.

Minjee quickly grabbed the basket away from the she-cat, and realized it wasn't a basket at all but a part of a swinging crib. She peeked inside and quickly snapped it shut snarling at Ibara," Oh, now, we're done for! The village already thinks I'm crazy for talking to animals and now I'm going to be arrested and forever known as the wacky lady that stole the baby." She huffed and started towards the village, wondering how she was going to explain this to the Fire Nation's over looker, General Jin. That man already hated her enough.

The baby's cries still persisted, and the earth-bender relented and picked up the child, lightly bouncing it in her arms. She looked at it and wondered how Ibara could've snuck her out of the village. The baby didn't look like most people from this area, with light brown hair and big, baby-blue eyes. Curiously, she tugged down the baby's blankets and realized something as she took in the babe's red and gold clothing.

"Great," she grumbled to the big cat," not only did you kidnap a baby, you kidnapped a _Firenation _baby." Ibara pawed at her leg and lightly butted her and gestured in the direction of the village with her tail, and she laid down on her back and stopped breathing for a few minutes before standing up to give a pointed look at Minjee.

Shocked, Minjee whispered," All of them?" The beast bowed its head.

She had trained Ibara to communicate in a limited and extremely confusing way and now it seemed as if she was saying the whole village was _dead. _Sure, they'd all been a bunch of assholes to her but still it just seemed wrong that they would be all dead! She picked up the child again and noticed something strange on its leg. Minjee sat down on the thick grass, and laid the child down in front of her, studying the abnormality. A faint, red birthmark stretched from the baby girl's calf all the way up to her thigh. It was in the perfect shape of a dragon, wrapped around her leg.

Minjee wasn't sure what that meant and she didn't want to know. Ibara butted her lightly in the back.

The raven-haired woman snorted and wagged her finger at the beast," I know what you're trying to do and it is _not _going to work." She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced away. A mewing sound made her look down to see the baby asleep on the ground, with Joko wrapping his body protectively around her. Minjee sighed and huffed," Alright! I'll keep her, it's not like a have a choice in the matter!"

Ibara purred smugly.

/

4 years later

/

"Mama!" yelled Draca( **pronounced Dray-suh**) excitedly. She had just learned the coolest thing ever! She raced toward their small little hut, Joko running beside her, not full grown yet but he would be in two years time.

Her mother's tall frame appeared in the doorway. Draca eagerly darted forward on light feet, her mother said she was just as silent as a cat stalking its prey, and stopped just in front of her mother.

Eagerly she cupped her hands together and a small flame busted between her fingers.

"It's cool, isn't it? Huh, Mama?"

He mother snapped Draca's hands shut. The little fire bender looked up to see her mother's muddy brown eyes looking at shock at her hands. Slowly, the older woman opened up her hands and traced Draca's finger's with her larger, tan ones.

Mama gave a forced smile and said," I-I guess you're a Firebender, sweetheart."

Draca grinned excitedly," You mean like you're an Earthbender?"

"Something like that."

Happily Draca held up her arms and her mama picked her up, the brown haired child placed a pale hand on her mother's dark tan face and stated happily," I'll be able to train with you now!"

Her mother sighed and admitted," I don't know much about Firebending, Draca, maybe we should find someone else to teach you."

Draca stuck out her bottom lip and pouted," But I want _you _to teach me Mama!"

The earth-bender set her down on the wooden floor, and then sat down across from her," I guess I could try…"

/

5 years later

/

Nine-year-old Draca patted Joko's head and clambered onto him, fitting in between the shelled-ridges on his back. Wobbling she stood up on his back. Joko growled up at her.

"You be quiet," she hissed," this'll work!" He snorted, clearly doubting her. She straightened up and fixed her long ponytail. Her hair had darkened to an almost black dark-brown, making her sky-blue eyes more prominent and already pale skin even fairer. She was short for her age, with slightly broad shoulders.

Carefully she placed her right foot in front of her left in a stance, lifting her fists up. She pushed up off of the plated on Joko's back, flipping in midair. While still in the air, Draca pushed out with her hands and fire shot out illuminating the sky a brilliant orange.

She felt pride in her skill and how she was able to learn through what little knowledge her mother knew of fire bending and even making up a few moves on her own by observing the earth-bender.

Draca was so caught up in thinking about how wonderful bending fire was, she didn't notice that the ground was extremely close and getting closer.

Pain shot up her side and the brown haired girl rolled onto her back to look into Joko's smug, _I-told-you-so_ face. She glared at him and was about to make a snappy retort when Ibara, who had been lazing in the sunshine, lifted up her head and snarled towards the road.

Draca stood up quickly and peered under Joko's neck to see a group of Firenation army men observing her from a distance. Scared, Draca swung onto Joko's back, tapping her foot twice on his shoulder and he took off in the direction of home at full speed, Ibara following closely behind.

The bushes whipped past and she ducked her head down low, completely trusting Joko to take her home safely. Why would the Firenation be in this part of the region? The only two people that even lived here were her and her mother. Miserable she realized she should've been more careful about where she bended at, like her mother had told her.

Joko skidded to a stop in front of the door to the hut and Draca skillfully hopped off, flinging open the door.

Her mother was peeling fruit and preparing supper, said without looking up," Clean up before dinner. The cats, too."

Draca stammered quietly in a whisper, "S-some soldiers f-f-from the Fire Nation saw me fire bending.."

"What?" her mother shouted, dropping the fruit she had been peeling, and paling under her tan.

Minjee grabbed Draca's hand and asked nervously licking her lips," Are you absolutely sure they saw you fire bending?"

"Y-yes," Draca said, feeling like she was about to cry.

"Well," Minjee started calmly," even if they did see you, they probably won't waste their time hunting down a child."

"Are you sure?" Draca cried hopefully. The earth-bender wrapped her arms around the tiny fire bender and she felt comforted.

A knock on the door made Draca freeze in horror.

"This is General Hazu, of the Fire Nation army, we have some questions for you and your daughter," said a deep voice through the door. It was slick and cold like ice.

Draca watched numbly as her mother opened the door and a tall man completely dressed in a black and red military uniform stepped into their hut. Draca trembled slightly, he was one of the biggest people she had ever seen, built like a mountain with a barrel chest and huge hands. His yellow eyes glittered coldly. Behind him, the others soldiers stood at attention.

Minjee bowed respectfully and responded," We will answer all your questions as truthfully as possible."

"We wouldn't want it any other way," her said distastefully as he knelt down beside the table. Daca politely started setting the table with tea cups. She felt his cruel eyes on her the whole time.

Her mother poured jasmine tea into the cups and asked General Hazu," What would you like to know?"

Daca sat down next to her mother across from him. She self-consciously pushed her bangs in front of her face. She knew that Minjee wasn't her birth mother, which basically was a dead giveaway since where Draca was tiny, pale skinned, with freckles and dark brown hair and blue eyes; Minjee was tall( around six feet) with jet-black hair streaked gray and deeply tanned skin, her eyes a muddy brown.

He studied both of them and cut right to the chase," Is she really your daughter?"

" Not by blood, I found Draca after she was abandoned in the forest," explained the earth-bender truthfully.

"So, you willingly took in a Fire Nation child?" questioned the General suspiciously.

"Yes."

Draca bit her lip, even she knew that sounded suspicious. It was rather simple; Minjee housed a Firebender so the Fire Nation couldn't harm Minjee. That was the little fire-bender's theory anyway. She knew that the old earth-bender _had_ taken her in out of the kindness of her heart and raised Draca like her own. But Hazu didn't know that.

Hazu nodded and drank his tea in one swig. Draca glared at his rudeness, but wondered hopefully if he would leave now.

He stood up slowly and said," I know all I need to know now," before snapping his fingers and barking at his soldiers," Take the girl!"

Draca opened her mouth in a cry of protest as rough hands gripped her shoulders and she hung there limply as they started to drag her away, too shocked to notice anything except her mother's pleas.

"But sir I answered everything you asked truthfully!" snarled Minjee as she tearfully pleaded," She's my _baby_, please, don't take her away."

General Hazu replied coldly," A fire-bender should not be socializing with Earth Kingdom scum as yourself."

Draca snapped away from them and ran into Minjee's arm's crying," Mama don't let them take me!"

Minjee held her tight for a second before whispering in her ear," I'll always love you." Draca blinked back tears, realizing that the only hope for them was if she went with the Fire Nation. Mama wasn't strong enough a bender to take on twenty fire nation soldiers at once.

The earth-bender looked up at the General's face and asked in a rough voice," Can she take her pet, Joko, with her?"

"I honestly do not care what she takes, she's still coming with us."

Minjee nodded and Draca buried her face into her mother's shirt, inhaling the familiar scent of soil and jasmine, knowing this would be last time she would ever smell it. Minjee pulled away from her and Draca followed her hands as she slipped off the metal band off of her arm. It was a simple bracelet that hugged close to a person's forearm with no design. Minjee placed it in Draca's hand and she lightly traced the molten gold metal with her pale hands. Darker hands hovered over it and pushed down unexpectedly. Draca blinked in shock at the new inscription on it. It was an engraved outline of two tigerdillo's roaring on either side of the Earth Kingdom symbol.

"Always remember where you came from," Minjee murmured into her hair. Draca slipped it onto her arm, although it was clearly too big.

Minjee pulled Draca to her feet and they followed the Fire Nation army outside.

Draca put her fingers to her lips and let out a long whistle, Joko bursting out of the woods a few seconds later.

The Fire Nation soldier's instinctively raised their arms in defense but Draca walked up to the big cat and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his fur as he nuzzled into her hair. She felt Minjee lift her up onto his back and Draca settled into the familiar ridges of his back.

Still crying Draca rode Joko at the center of the marching troops, glancing back to see Ibara nudging a crying Minjee. The older she cat looked just as sad as her mother. Both were losing their babies.


	2. Chapter 1

Draca leant against the railing of the Fire Nation ship, the soft spray of water hitting her face. She had been traveling with the soldiers for two months and were now arriving at the Fire Nation's Capitol.

Joko was standing by her side, gazing eagerly at the island ahead of them. He hated water and it took four days and a lot of threats to get him on the boat in the first place.

She looked down into the blue waves and wondered what her mother was doing. It had been strange for her, since the fire-bender had never been away from Minjee for no more than a few hours.

"Whenever we get to shore, we will take you to the palace and let Fire Lord Ozai decide what to do with you," said Hazu from behind her. During her months with the troops, she had seen that he wasn't really that bad. Just arrogant and kind of stupid. Draca still hated him, either way. It was all his fault for splitting up her family. The only thing him and all the other Fire Nation people thought about was themselves.

Draca stepped away from the bow and curled up next to her animal companion. She hated being there, hated being one of _them._ Fire-bending was no longer fun, it just reminded her of what she was expected to be like.

She shoved the golden bracelet back up her arm for the thousandth time that day. It had never been taken off since her mother had given it to her. She reached up ad stroked Joko's ear, and he purred with his eyes closed in content. At least she still had one member of her family with her.

"We'll be landing in three minutes," yelled someone as they passed through the Gates of Azulon. Draca hopped onto Joko's back and directed him towards the ramp.

She looked at the city which she would now call home. Draca didn't see much, since the Capital was inside of a dormant volcano and she could only see the volcano part. What she did see was the green mountainsides and thought of her _real _home. Maybe they would let her ride Joko in the woods?

The ramp lowered and Draca assumed her position in the center of the troops, right next to General Hazu,so he could, like he said ," Keep an eye on her." As if she were stupid enough to actually escape from _Fire Nation _soldiers in the heart of the _Fire Nation_. Imbeciles.

Joko walked at a steady pace, as she observed their surroundings coldly. The Capital's harbor was industrial, busy with the sounds of war ships being launched, people yelling at other people, orders being given, and soldiers coming home.

Some of the people were now openly staring at her, the small girl riding the tigerdillo. Draca ducked her head and pushed her bangs into her eyes, peeking shyly through the filthy locks. Joko had his head ducked, ears flattened, and lips drawn back to reveal sharp incisors. She knew it was his way of saying," Back _off !", _but to the bystanders he must've seem much more threatening than that. Some were even hiding their children.

An hour later, Draca sighed boredly, finally they had reached the Fire Lord's castle and in her opinion it was just an overlarge house, not really a palace.

"Whenever we meet with the Fire Lord…" ,Hazu then launched into a long speech about what to do and what not do. Honestly, she tuned out after she learned what _to _do.

A few servants opened the grand doors, Draca slipped off Joko's back and hurriedly followed General Hazu towards the house.

After a lot of twist and turns down a bunch of hallways and gardens, they arrived at another set of grand doors.

Joko chuffed dissaprovingly and Draca shushed him, she didn't need the Fire Lord to execute him for being disrespectful.

The three of them stepped into the room and Draca kept her eyes focused on the back of Hazu's feet, not looking into the bright orange flames set around the Fire Lord Ozai, shrouding his body in darkness, scared of seeing the cruel master of the war. She feared and hated the man at the same time, because when she got down to it ,it was all his fault for her separation from her family. But he was also the one that could have her killed with a snap of his fingers. Which was why Draca was actually going to try to not make any remarks about his genocidal, egotistical, sadistic personality or how he was such a terrible leader. The little fire-bender would just keep that to herself until later when she told Joko what she thought of him.

She bowed down next to the General , instructing Joko to do the same. Her forehead touched the floor and she could practically see her pale scared face reflected on the shiny, obsidian surface.

She heard the tigerdillo sigh dramatically in exasperation, before kneeling down on his front paws, his muzzle lightly grazing the ground. Draca had been practicing with him for a few weeks.

"General Hazu, why have you brought this child before me?" questioned a voice so cold it would have frozen ice. Draca even felt Joko quiver slightly. Hazu sat up and gazed into the spiraling flames.

"Fire Lord Ozai, pardon for the abrupt intrusion, but I thought you would like to see this child's _unique _talents," Hazu said calmly. Draca grudgingly thought how brave he was to be able to speak without having his voice tremble.

"Oh?" the voice inquired as slick as oil.

The gray-haired General turned to Draca and commanded," Show him."

The little fire-bender stood up cautiously , walking forward a few steps with the tigerdillo closely behind her. She planted her feet firmly on the ground, her hands held in fists facing each other close to her chest. Joko crouched beside her, claws extended, head snaking along the ground, a growl rumbling deep within his chest.

Draca breathed deeply in for a few seconds before snapping both fists out to the side, creating a spiral wall of flame, then stomping her foot on the ground before roundhouse kicking another immense column of fire. Beside her, Joko imitated her motions except with his claws and fangs, their moves perfectly in tune.

She curled her fingers like claws and slashed her long nails in a wide arc, thin lines of fire flashing brightly. Joko jumped clear over her, Draca leapt onto his back just as his claws scraped he floor.

The fire-bender stood up, balancing carefully on his shoulder blades, kicked, sending out a jet of flame. As a finally, she did a back flip, landing on the pads of her feet, in front of the Fire Lord, and with the courage of fire still coursing through her veins, she gazed challengingly into his cold yellow eyes. Draca curled her lip in disgust, before clapping her hands together, lashing out into the flame wall with a burst of light.

Joko crouched behind her, and she could almost feel the animosity coming from the beast's angry gaze. Apparently even animals thought the Fire Lord was the incarnation of evil.

Fire Lord Ozai's eyes glittered thoughtfully," How very…interesting."

/

**5 years later**

/

Draca sighed in content as she snuggled deeply into the covers of her bunk, the rocking of the ship lulling her to sleep. Joko was snoring softly beside her, his body heat warming the small cabin they shared.

In the five years she had been at the Capitol, Draca had been sent to study the arts of fire-bending, stealth, and fighting. All leading up to her job, assigned to her courtesy of the Fire Lord himself: Assassin. She smiled slightly to herself in bitter amusement. No words could describe the anger that coursed through her as she was aware the irony of the situation.

The fire-bender sat up, stretching her arms out in front of her and arching her back like a cat's. Out of habit, she studied her surroundings, a rank metal cabin. Emphasis on the metal. In her opinion, the Fire Nation used way too much of it.

"RISE AND SHINE!" shrieked Airi, flinging open the thick door with a loud _bang!_

Draca glared at the other fire-bender. Airi Leiko was three years older then her, making Airi seventeen, with dark blond hair pulled tightly in a bun and bangs that were flat and straight against her forehead. Her bright gold eyes sparkled playfully with mischief. Unlike Draca, Airi wasn't forced to be an assassin. Her whole family had worked as assassins since Fire Lord Sozin's reign, generation after generation. Draca figured that if Airi wasn't so happy and nice all the time she would probably have hated her. Since Airi was so damn happy-go-lucky, though, it was impossible to be mad at her for anything. Even for being a licensed killer.

"General Hazu requested that you be at breakfast," said the blonde flippantly. Draca rolled her eyes and snorted. She hated breakfast foods, something the General seemed to think was the one meal you weren't allowed to skip.

"Hate to break it to him, but he can request all he likes, I refuse to eat that terrible food."

Airi laughed before jumping onto the bed, and still giggling stated," Well, you might want to eat before we land in the Earth Kingdom tonight. We'll be busy y'know what with trying to eliminate the King of Omashu and all."

Draca stroked Joko's head, making the big feline purr in content, saying quietly," I'll remember…."

One of the things Draca had noticed while training was that she really didn't mind killing, and as ironic as that sounded, it just seemed to fit. Maybe it was because she watched the tigerdillo's hunt too many times as a child. During the course of the training she'd undergone, the instructors would occasionally bring in small animals and point our main arteries to strike at, while also pointing them out on a human diagram. Draca was once told she had the cleanest kill of all the five kids in the class. For some sick reason, she still felt a twinge of pride when she thought about it.

Draca got back under the covers, snuggling into Joko's warmth.

"Aren't you excited?" squealed Airi, clapping her hands together in delight."It's our first assignment! A really important one."

Draca closed her eyes and yawned," Its supposed to be easy. We're only supposed to poison him. All that takes is some powder in food."

"Whatever, I'm still excited. I mean. this is our chance to prove our loyalty to the Fire Nation." Airi said, for the first time sounding serious, her golden eyes turning flat and determined. The famous Fire Nation freak loyalty.

Draca rolled her eyes and slowly got out of bed, stretching her muscles. "We might as well get going."

/

It felt wonderful to be on Earth Kingdom ground again. Draca was positive it was the best feeling on earth. Maybe that was why it was called the Earth Kingdom?

Airi was muttering behind her about how the Fire Nation wasn't entirely made of desert. Draca turned back to the blonde and sighed," Its not entirely made out of desert. We just have to head out in the desert to get to Omashu."

"I know, "Airi complained," but its such a long way!" She started tugging on her long-sleeved Earth kingdom kimono, pale tan with dark green bordering and the symbol of a flower over her chest. Draca herself was wearing a dark green sleeveless kimono with a white trim and the earth nation symbol over her chest. Unlike Airi's, which had been designed for style, Draca's was designed for traveling comfort, only coming down a little bit past her knees and wearing baggy dark green shorts underneath. Whereas the blonde was wearing dark green traveling slippers, Draca had decided to walk bare-foot. It was easier to ride Joko that way.

She observed as Airi sheathed a few thin blades within secret compartments inside the long sleeves of her kimono. They would be traveling by themselves from now on, with no help from anyone in the Fire Nation. It would compromise their covers and that wouldn't be acceptable. Draca swept her dark hair up in a half-way bun, tied with a ribbon, in traditional Earth Kingdom style. Airi's blonde locks had been temporarily dyed a hideous light brown and was still tied up in a high Fire Nation bun, except she'd been force to take out the Fire symbol barrette out of it. Everything was designed to the last inch so as not to gain suspicion or leave any kind of evidence of Fire Nation having anything to do with the horrendous crime they were about to commit.

Draca swung up onto Joko's back, trying to get him to steady. Ever since they'd gotten onto the land, the tigerdillo had been acting antsy, sniffing all over and jumping on the pads of his feet. After he'd settled down, she reached down and grabbed Airi's hand. The other Firebender clambered aboard and questioned," How long will this take us anyway?"

Draca shrugged and said," Around three to four days at the least if we don't take too many breaks."

The actually-a-blonde groaned," That's so _long, _though."

She shrugged and nudged Joko forward," Then I guess we'd better get going"

/

It took them only three days to reach Omashu, just like Draca had predicted. The city walls were huge, encasing the city in an impenetrable cocoon, similar to the one in Ba Sing Se. The small Fire Bender directed Joko to stop a few feet in front of the gaurds, who were eying them warily.

" Who are you and what do you want? Bellowed on of the gaurds.

Draca respectfully dipped her head and replied in country(hillbilly, actually) drawl," My sistuh and ay would lak to move tuh the cit-ay foh mah sistuh and ay tuh find sewt-urs foh us. Ya know them fancy men wit' tuh money and fanc-ay stuffs."

Airi nodded eagerly, falling into the plan easily, dumbly saying," Yus suh, we gone find us some richsy mens foh ourselves."

Then the older Firebender winked at the guard flirtatiously, waving her fingers at him. The guard blushed and then hurriedly gestured towards the other guards to open the gates. Draca had Joko walk slowly passed them, while Airi continued to make a fool of herself. As they passed them, she couldn't contain the smirk that spread across her face. The plan was working flawlessly. If the rest of it worked just as smoothly they would be moving onto their next assignment within two weeks.

"Wow," Airi whispered into her ear," I never thought the city would be as awesome as this!"

Draca nodded dumbly in agreement. The whole city was like a giant puzzle, with shoots and stairs, houses and shops. Thousands of people milled below, going about in their day to day scheduling. They had no idea what was about to befall their precious Omashu. Her head started spinning. The city was so huge, with so many people, how were they supposed to get into the palace undetected? She quickly pushed the thought aside. They were inside the city. That was their first step, after they found a place to stay they Firebenders would start on the next step of their plan. Then….well, then they would take the city for the Fire Nation.

"We'd better find somewhere cheap to stay," Draca commented.

"Ugh, we're not going to stay at one of those run-down, tick-roach infested apartments, are we?"

"If it means then we can continue on with the plan undetected," she explained.

Airi muttered obscenities under her breath about their future living conditions. Draca silently agreed with her. But, orders were orders and that was the easiest way to follow them. No mistakes could be afforded. Draca would make sure of that.


	3. Chapter 2

Draca looked amusedly as Joko disdainfully sniffed around their new one room apartment, his ears flat against his skull in distaste. Her plan was to stay as far away from the palace as possible, so as not to rise suspicion. Draca, Airi, and Joko had moved into a dank, small apartment that was in one of the more poorer sides of town.

Airi was currently "looking for a job in the palace," the second part of their plan. The blonde would get a job and find the easiest way to sneak into it and kill the King without anyone knowing. Draca was struggling to keep Joko calm, he was antsy and kept on wanting to go outside, but she didn't want anymore attention than what he had already attracted. She also didn't want him to be pet-napped. She was already stressed out enough without having to look all over spirits' green earth for her only family member left.

"It'll be okay, big guy," she said scratching him behind the ears. The tigerdillo growled in pleasure before moving to lie down facing the door, his ears pricked for intruders. If it weren't for him, she would be out exploring the city, but it was too risky leaving a valuable animal by himself, especially Joko since he had a weird separation anxiety ever since they had first left the Earth Kingdom.

Bored, Draca reached under the bed and pulled out the weapons case, opening it to reveal thin daggers, throwing knives, dual swords, and several jars filled to the brim with poisons and tranquilizers . Draca grabbed her favorite, the small switchblade-like dagger with the outline of a dragon etched into the blade, sort of like the birthmark she had on her leg. She expertly flipped it into the air, catching it by the hilt as it came back down. If she couldn't it explore, she may as well train while Airi was out. She didn't have a doubt in her mind that the older Firebender would get a job in the palace. Airi was beautiful and charismatic, no person in their right mind wouldn't want her working for them. Which was why Draca had made it to where she wouldn't be the one with the job interview. Training to be an assassin did not offer a crash course in socializing. Lying was easy for her, as long as she didn't have to say too much. Also, since Draca was not yet sixteen she wasn't eligible to get a job in the first place.

Draca started going through her drills, occasionally stabbing and slashing, sometimes even letting loose small, controlled bursts of fire. The brunette focused on her inner anger, like she'd been taught in the Capitol. It was less painful than thinking about her…original training.

It was going to be a long wait.

/

It had been an hour, Draca was dying from boredom. She'd gone through all of her training exercises and Airi still hadn't come back from the palace. The brunette didn't even consider the possibility of Airi getting them caught. It wouldn't happen. All she knew was that if the idiot blonde wasn't back by sundown, she'd personally storm the castle herself!

A growl from Joko broke Draca from her thoughts and she looked up from the book she'd been skimming through to see him press his nose along the cracks underneath their questionably stained bed. His tail was twitching, and even from where she was sitting she could see his pupils narrow to pin points. _Oh no, not now…_

"Joko! Don't even think-"

The feline snaked a huge paw underneath the bed, hooked his claw underneath it, and with a single flick, the whole bed was flipped over. A small shadow raced away, Joko streaking out of it.

_Joko running+Small space=Shit this can't be happening moment._

Draca gaped in horror as Joko began knocking over everything in sight, chasing after what appeared to be a rodent of some kind. The Firebender hopped up onto her chair, blue eyes blazing. She would not let Joko destroy this dump even more than it already was. It pained her to do so, but she flexed her fingers into a fist, raising it above her head, slashing back down with a flick of her wrist. A fire whip lashed out and slapped only a centimeter in front of the tigerdillo's mad chase. Joko reared back, snarling. Draca flicked the whip one more time, this time at his shoulder. He landed back on all fours, sending her baleful looks, completely unashamed of the destruction he'd done. Giving a snort and a withering glance back at the little rodent, cowering in the corner, he proceeded to go stand by the door to sulk.

She quickly extinguished the fire whip and approached the little thing that had caused all this. It was white with dark gray patches a bushy tail with mostly ratttish features except for its feline like orange eyes and large triangle shaped ears. A rat-cat. Draca held out her hand, making soothing noises in the back of her throat. Its bright pink nose twitched before cautiously walking towards her, blinking it eyes in curiosity at his savior. Draca smiled as it crawled into her hand with its little pink paws. She brought it up to her face cradling- apparently a female- in her hands, before shooting a glare at both of the animals, asking," Was all of that really necessary?"

Joko chuffed back at her in annoyance, while the smaller animal batted at her face with it paws, apparently trying to win her over with cuteness. Draca petted the little thing, with it rubbing against her hand and making a weird purring-coo sound. She went sit down next to Joko, petting his head with one hand and setting the rat-cat down in her lap. It was so small and defenseless….and trusting. She gazed sadly down at the little creature, then asked in a sing-song voice to Joko," What do you think, should we keep her?"

The tigerdillo flicked his tail and turned his head away in a I-don't-care-what-you-do-with-that-thing way.

Draca smiled brightly and announced to the rat-cat softly," I'm going to call you," she thought about it a moment. What would be the perfect name for the little sheila?

An idea hit her. It was just the most perfect name for a rat-cat.

"Krysa. I'm going to call you Krysa. Welcome to the family, little one."

/

Zuko watched in horror as Zhao was dragged beneath the glowing waves.

"Take my hand!" he shouted desperately. As much as he despised the Admiral, he couldn't let him die without at least trying to help him. It wouldn't be honorable of him.

The scarred prince outstretched his hand. Everything began moving in slow motion. He saw the Admiral begin to reach out, but then he looked away from the young Prince regretfully, pulling away from his only lifeline as he was pulled beneath the waves.

Zuko gazed down at the water in shock before turning away. He couldn't help feeling a little bit sorrowful for the loss of Zhao. The Prince felt like he should've done more to save the bastard of a man. But just like pride had drove the Admiral in his search for the Avatar, it had also led to his destruction.

/

"I am _not_ sharing a room with that thing," Airi said angrily, glaring at Krysa angrily. Joko chuffed quietly at the door in agreement with the blonde. _Traitorous feline. _Draca shot rage filled looks at them as she shared bits of her dinner to the said rat-cat, which Airi watched in disgust.

"Then me ,Joko, and Krysa will sleep in the alley," she lied. It would be a cold day in the Fire Nation before Draca would allow a poor, defenseless animal be turned out on the street. Joko shot her a withering glance, clearly not wanting to be dragged into this.

"Fine,' Airi huffed," you can keep it." Apparently the older Firebender hadn't realized she'd been bluffing. Draca smirked, it was just so easy tricking her friend. Her mind quickly switched gears as she asked," What do you know so far about the palace?"

"There are a lot of passageways, a lot of guards, and basically a lot of people," Airi reported. Draca nodded distantly, already strategizing. Even with a lot of guards a palace as large as King Bumi's would have a lot of blackout points in the defense system. Airi should monitor the guard's rotation schedule, look for escape routes, and memorize the King's schedule. They were all key points for the plan Draca had brewing in her mind.

She relayed her list of demands towards Airi, which earned her a ," Why do I have to do all the work?"

Draca narrowed her eyes and scoffed," You get to practically spend all your day in a palace, get free meals, and a wonderful salary to buy clothes. You work there as parlor maid. The only work you do is stand around and look pretty. I will be observing the palace's defense from the outside, risking my life by the way, and then I have to come back here and tend to a six hundred pound cat that could possibly have killed someone, which then will make me have to cover up a murder. You do all the work around here? I beg to differ. "

Draca glared at the blonde, while Airi 'humped' and turned away, clearly not agreeing with Draca, but not being able to find a flaw in the younger girl's logic.

Airi unexpectedly stood up, yawning," I'm tired."

The brunette gazed disgustedly on as the older girl climbed into the moldy, stained, and over all gross bed. She would most definitely not be sleeping on that _thing._ Draca gathered up Krysa in her arms, cradling the rat-cat like a baby then walked over towards Joko, who was rolled over onto his back legs flailing up in the air. She crawled up onto his stomach, the fur warm on his belly. The tigerdillo purred as she curled up on top of him, curving one paw to tuck her closer to his chin.

The sweet moment was ruined when Krysa squeaked and Joko snarled in anger at having his newest archenemy sleeping on top of him.

/

"I'm off to work," said Airi chirpily, the idiot morning person, as she opened up the blind to let in some sunlight. Draca drowsily snuggled her head into Joko's chest fur, trying to block out the intrusive light. Joko snored softly. Unexpectedly, her "bed" started tilting towards the side and she struggled to stand back up only to be crushed by a sleeping tigerdillo .Krysa made a shrieking sound as she bolted away. Draca pushed her head out from underneath, wheezing and choking out," I-can't-breathe!"

Joko rolled off of her, though he continued to stay sleeping. Lucky bastard. Oh, well, she had work to do today, too.

"How do I look?" questioned Airi as she twirled in her new uniform. It was a simple and traditional kimono of green and pale yellow bordering, she wore the mandatory green slippers and complex bun style that completely pulled her hair out of her face, making the blonde look elegant and professional. One of which she most certainly was not.

Draca rolled her eyes and made a 'whatever' gesture with her hand as she pulled out her daggers, slipping them into the sheaths on her hips. The brunette was wearing a loose black shirt that had a collar that could be pulled up to conceal the bottom half of her face with loose black pants and was barefoot. It was easier for her to maneuver quietly without shoes. Grabbing a ribbon, she pulled her long hair up into a high ponytail, her bangs falling down into her eyes.

"Oh, do you think anyone will be suspicious of me?" Airi asked, fiddling with her sleeves.

Draca snorted," Of course not. I'm the mastermind behind this plan remember? My plans never fail."

The older girl nodded, reassured before she announced happily," Well, see you later."

The door slammed shut as she ran towards the palace. Draca betted her daggers on that Airi would be late. Krysa hopped onto Draca's shoulder, hiding herself inside the folds of her shirt. Draca patted Joko on the head, instructing him," Don't do anything stupid while we're gone, m'kay?"

He just blinked lazily back, falling asleep again.

/

She kept to the shadows and dark alleys (there were surprisingly a lot of them). With an agile grace she carefully crept over the palace's wall. Ducking behind another wall, she quickly noted that with a lot of walls its easy for people to sneak in and out and also wondered what kind of an idiot designed the city to have so many frickin' walls. Draca shook her head, she was here to gather information, not ponder on the architecture of the city.

Quickly she found an entry way through a window, slipping inside and silently closing it back. On light feet, Draca began down the hallway, wondering again why she was doing this. But, of course, she knew the answer and had thought it over many times before. There was no going back.

She approached a larger hallway, keeping close to the wall before peeking into it. Two guards by a grand set of doors, and, thankfully, no Airi. Good, Draca smirked, the plan was falling in place exactly as she had planned. Krysa wriggled a little in her clothes. Time for the second part of her invincible, fool proof plan. The Firebender pulled the rat-cat out of her clothes, Krysa nuzzled into her palm before looking up at Draca curiously.

Draca peeked around the corner again, showing Krysa the grand hallway. The rat-cat lashed its tail, sensing something important was about to happen. She touched the little creature on the head with the index finger on her other hand, concentrating on her chi and the rat-cat's chi connecting.

A faint red glow appeared on the rat-cat's head of a dragon poised in flight. Draca stiffened the world standing still as she briefly saw the world through Krysa's eyes, everything in a sepia color scheme, almost all things massive and exaggerated. Quickly she established what she wanted Krysa to do.

It only lasted a split second, Draca returned into herself, removing her finger from the rat-cat's head. The dragon glowed dimly, flared for a second, and then faded out. Krysa had a dazed look in her eyes, before shaking her head and looking trustingly up at the Firebender.

She set Krysa on the ground. The rat-cat rubbed against her mistress's feet before darting into the middle of the grand hallway. Draca held her breath as she watched.

The guards shared a confused look at each other before turning back to the rat-cat sitting in the middle of the hallway. Krysa stared at them for a few heartbeats.

Then she began to…..

Dance.

Draca promptly introduced her face to her palm. Krysa stood up on her hind legs and beg doing a series of leaps and twists in the air to some unheard music This was not what she had just told her to do. She should've just killed the guards. Much less humiliating.

She was preparing to just throw her sedative tipped daggers into the arms of the men, which wouldn't be a good idea since she didn't exactly have the best aim in the world, when all of a sudden Krysa leapt up in the face of one guard and slashed her claws lightly, but still hard enough to draw blood across his cheek. The man started to bat her away but the he fainted. Before the other guard could call for help, Krysa hissed and leapt off of the shoulder of the first guard to claw the other ones face with her own sedative tipped paws.

Draca sighed in relief before dashing forward, snatching up Krysa who was growling gloatingly over their bodies, and darting in through the grand doors.

The Firebender found herself in an elaborately styled green and gold, medium sized dining room. She was looking at a kooky looking old man, hunched over in green robes. This was the King of Omashu? Draca knew he was old but she didn't think he was _this _old.

She walked forward slowly, unsheathing her daggers slowly as he looked at her in perpetual amusement. As if he didn't find her threatening. Draca gripped the daggers tightly in her hands. Do it. Do it now, her inner voices encouraged.

The assassin threw the daggers on the ground, pulled her face cover off, bowing low to the ground.

" I would like to demand a conference with you, King Bumi."


	4. Chapter 3

The old coot laughed in an insane snorting laugh before saying, " You're late for tea time!"

What? Draca opened her mouth to say she didn't like tea, then thought better of it. A little frustrated, the Firebender sat down across from the old King. Apparently the stories about him being off his rocker were true. It didn't matter, as long as he got the point over what she was fixing to tell him was the most important thing at the moment.

"It would be best if you didn't have any of your servants be here while I tell you this," Draca cautioned.

King Bumi snorted," Who needs 'em anyway?" He poured his own cup of tea before Earthbending the clay kettle towards her. Draca easily caught it before it crashed into the wall. She politely poured some herself, ignoring the foul smell. Draca had never liked tea, actually that was an understatement. She absolutely _loathed _it. It was one of the only drinks they served in the Fire Nation, she practically dehydrated after her first week aboard General Hazu's ship.

She cleared her throat, before speaking," I have come to give you a warning. The Fire Nation has set their sights on Omashu. They wish to take it by having you killed."

Bumi snorted and laughed again," How can they kill me when I'm protected by all these guards? I am perfectly safe."

Draca growled before continuing in a patient voice, hoping he'll catch on," They have deployed two assassins to murder you and while the Fire Nation will send their army in during the chaos that ensues when your people are choosing a successor."

The sound of little feet behind her made Draca whip around only to see Krysa behind her. The rat-cat jumped up onto the table, dunking her head into Draca's tea and taking large gulps.

"Ha-ha," the King started laughing insanely. Draca bit back a smile. Apparently all leaders were insane. Except Fire Lord Ozai was homicidally insane and Bumi was just crazy insane. She extended her arm, Krysa clambered onto it taking the cup of tea with her.

"You have a way with animals," he chortled," reminds me of someone else I knew back in the day. A witch-doctor by the name of Minjee."

Draca focused on keeping her face neutral, although on the inside she felt shock. Her mother had known King Bumi? When the hell had that occurred?

"She even gave me my dearest pet Flopsie as my ninetieth birthday present," he reminisced.

That she knew about, her mother had told her the story of how she'd saved a gorilla-goat cub from poachers and eventually gave it away to some rich friend of her's. Minjee would go on and on about how he had picked possibly the worst name in history for a gorilla-goat. The memory crept up on her suddenly, she couldn't stop it.

_Minjee shook her head distastefully, " Who names a mighty animal like that 'Flopsie'! I should've knocked some sense into him with a boulder."_

_Ibara snorted in the background, clearly not buying that her mistress would ever hurt a friend. _

"_I should've," Minjee muttered under her breath as she began mixing her poultices again._

_Draca giggled, snuggling closer to Joko, hoping that one day her and him would grow up to act just like them._

Draca pinched herself out of her own daze. She needed to focus and not give away her connection to Minjee. The Firebender was just here to inform him of what was fixing to happen.

She pressed on," There is a traitor within your staff. One of the assassins is working here."

Draca couldn't say Airi's name out loud. The King would figure out who the traitor was eventually. If she was lucky, the blonde would just be sent back to the Fire Nation with a warning. Airi was a good friend, but knowing her loyalty to the Fire Nation and Fire Lord Ozai, she would probably have Draca put in jail for treason. Or she might kill her. Depends on what mood the older assassin might be in. Either way would be highly painful for Draca and she was hoping to avoid that at all costs.

While she was thinking about what prison life would be like, Draca tuned back into Bumi's ramblings to hear.

" Who would've thought a Firebender would be against the Fire Nation? Isn't that funny, Ms. Yiyao."

Ice filled her veins. She hadn't been called that in a long time. Draca glared at him," How long have you known?"

" I would have to be pretty crazy to not recognize my own goddaughter!" Bumi laughed out.

/

Joko absentmindedly scratched his ear. This little room had lost its nonexistent appeal very quickly. His mistress probably hadn't smelled it with her weak sense of smell, but the place smelled extremely bad. Not to mention how small it was. It was distasteful for a warrior of his caliber to be residing in this place. Ibara would be ashamed. He stood up and yawned. Unlike Draca, he chose not to forget his past.

He had noticed changes within his mistress since they began their training with the fire people. He had grown up knowing that she was one of them, yet not one of them, and it had been a shock to see just why other humans feared them. Joko knew his mistress was a very compassionate person, but she had also developed a few unsavory traits. Draca had turned colder, more cunning, and an expert manipulator. Joko also knew that if they were going to survive their deception, she was going to have to use all of her acquired traits.

The tigerdillo paced around the room anxiously. Draca wasn't back yet. That stupid rat-cat probably messed up the mission. He should've killed it when he had the chance. Joko growled under his breath. He hadn't been hunting in a while, just the thought of tearing into the jugular of prey made his paces become quicker. Joko licked his lips in anticipation. The fur on his spine lifted and his pupils narrowed to pinpoints.

He abruptly stopped pacing. _Breathe_, he commanded himself. Slowly his pupils returned to normal, and the fur on his shoulder lowered. Joko felt ashamed, Ibara had always told him never to kill for pleasure, only for food.

Draca wasn't the only trained killer. The animal trainers in Caldera had taught him the basic necessities of a trained guard animal. For a short time after arriving in the big city, Joko had been separated from his beloved mistress. It had been the worst two moons of his life. Not only was Draca his mistress, but also like his own little cub. A littermate. He had not only endured terrible survival and fight trainings where they would pit him against other animals to fight, but he also was left to worry about her.

At the end of all that pain, he was reunited with Draca, but Joko had changed and he knew it. Just like she had. The tigerdillo was now less tolerable of other people, far less trusting( his circle of trust pretty much only consisted of Draca), and was not nearly as playful as he had been during cubhood. He was still playful and fun-loving, but only when it was just him and Draca.

Joko laid down again. _Please_, he willed silently, _come back safe._

He also asked silently for Krysa to disappear and never come back.

/

Draca could only stare with a gaping jaw at King Bumi for about five minutes, before she snapped," If you're my godfather how come I've never even met or heard of you?"

Bumi's eyes narrowed, and for the first time displayed some signs of intelligence," Your mother used to visit Omashu quiet a lot when you were a youngster. You were only three years old the last time I saw you, Minjee stopped coming after the Fire Nation blocked the roadways. She sent letters, though."

Draca blinked in surprise," How did you recognize me?"

" You still have the exact same freckles you had as a baby," Bumi cackled, before continuing seriously," We could continue with these questions or you could let old Uncle Bumi in on this plan the Fire Nation have for me, little assassin."

The Firebender nodded, before launching into what the Fire Nation had told her to do. Basically it was to gather Intel, kill the King, and let the army invade. She even told him about Airi, although she did ask for him to be lenient on her friend when they arrested the blonde. It seemed a little too trusting, but since he knew Minjee, she figured he was okay. Her mother had only been friends with people that were worthy of her friendship.

After she was done, Draca asked sweetly," Is there anyway that you could sneak me out of the city without anyone knowing?"

"I'm the King," he snorted," of course I can."

Bumi stood up and gestured towards the door," It was wonderful seeing you again, but I'm afraid we both have business to attend to. I'll send a message in a few days time when your escape is prepared."

Draca nodded, then she asked one last question," C-could you send a message to my mom?"

The old King looked away, before saying," I would, but Your mother has….disappeared. No one has seen her since the Fire Nation took you away. She came and stayed in Omashu for a little while, but then she left without a trace."

The Firebender stared blankly into space for a few seconds. Minjee was missing? All her hope of rejoining her mother vanished. She wouldn't think too much about it, the older Yiyao woman was more then capable of handling herself.

Draca zoned back in to see King Bumi opening the grand doors, she stood up to stand beside him, walked and then turned around, bowing in the traditional Fire Nation style," Thank you, for your help, King Bumi."

He waved her off," Well, you did just tell me that someone is trying to kill me," he bowed to her," All of Omashu will thank you."

She nodded, pulling the cloth back over the bottom half of her face, dashing away before anymore could be said. As Draca ran, her eyes burned with the tears she wouldn't shed.

The Firebender had an escape plan to prepare for.


End file.
